Gravediggers Ball Showcases One-of-a-Kind Philly Cemetery

Catering to a diverse range of people and interests is not something most expect from a working cemetery. But Laurel Hill Cemetery in East Falls, Philadelphia seems to do just that. The activities the graveyard provides read like courses in a college catalog with subjects including arboriculture, architecture, art, botany, genealogy, history, kinesiology, sculpture. Welcome to Laurel Hill University. What major will it be?

Last Friday the Laurel Hill Cemetery held its fifth annual Gravediggers Ball to raise money for its preservation, promotion and educational programs. The guests’ interests in Laurel Hill Cemetery were as varied as the costumes they wore.

Jack and Carol Lieberman from Wyndmoor, Pa., were dressed as two people buried at Laurel Hill from the Civil War-era, Sarah Hale and Captain Parcival Drayton. Both Liebermans are active at the Union League and the Delaware Valley Civil War Roundtables, as well as Laurel Hill Cemetery.

“We’ve done a lot of tours in support of Laurel Hill Cemetery, which we think is a very important cause,” Carol Lieberman said. “More people should be involved and make contributions.”

Many Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery board members were present, most of who were dressed up. One such board member David Horowitz, dressed as Dracula, was able to convince a good friend of his to come out to the ball. Though his friend Pedro Pomales admitted to having been “dragged along,” he was enthusiastic about the night and the cemetery.

“It’s a beautiful cemetery so I love supporting it, and that’s why I’m here tonight,” Pomales said. “I have not been to the Gravediggers Ball before. I’m enjoying it so far.”

Pomales was dressed as a Death Eater from the Harry Potter novels.

While some costumes had no connection to the cemetery, Jennifer Flam and Joe White from Jersey tried a historical theme.

“We were going to try to be people who were buried in the cemetery, but we couldn’t figure out exactly who looked like what,” Flam said. “There seem to be a lot of people from the civil war era buried there so I thought this was an opportunity to wear my Civil War dress.”

Flam and White went to the Gravediggers Ball for the first time last year, and they said raising money with a ball was a great idea.

“It’s simply a fascinating thing to do, to come to a party where you can play dress up, and it benefits the cemetery,” Flam said. “Raising money with fun is a good idea.”

“We like fun and we like money,” White chimed in.

Whatever the reason, about 400 people attended the Gravediggers Ball, which had Director of Development and Programming Gwendolyn Kaminski calling the night a success. Whether or not the silent auction proved lucrative for the Friends of Laurel Hill, most guests seemed to call the night a success.

In the wise words of Civil War-era Jennifer Flam, “I think people should dress up and have fun more often.”